Do you remember the days of letter jackets, Sadie Hawkins dances, and hanging out at the soda shop after school? Yeah I don’t… I wasn’t born yet. I did have a poodle skirt and saddle shoes for a Halloween costume though. I am also pretty sure I kept wearing the saddle shoes well after Halloween because I thought I was “wicked” cool. (Wicked is a term used in the Syracuse and Boston area that in essence means really really or like totally… Yup that’s my technical definition.)

Why am I referring to soda shops and saddle shoes? That’s because today’s recipe is the Root Beer Float, a favorite throwback recipe in my home.

My mom and I made some fantastic root beer floats when she came to visit in November. Due to Thanksgiving sides, Christmas cookies, and appetizer craziness around here, I hadn’t had a chance to post about them. While we were making the floats, we recalled how grandma called root beer floats, Brown Cows, and ones made with cola and vanilla ice cream, Black Cows. This sparked a conversation and some googling to see what other types of floats are out there.

There are a lot of types of soda floats! A Boston Cooler is when you made a float with ginger ale and vanilla ice cream (originated in Detroit not Boston- sorry M!) A Snow White is a when you make a float with lemon-lime soda and vanilla ice cream. Then, there is an Orange Cow with orange soda and Purple Cows with grape soda, both with vanilla ice cream. You can get crazy with some Beer floats or Shakin’ Jesse, which is Guinness and vanilla ice cream. Who knew you could make this many floats, but my favorite will always be the Root Beer Float!